A prosecution witness in the alleged N80.2 billion money laundering trial involving former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, on Thursday told the Federal High Court in Abuja how Ali Bello allegedly made several cash payments for the construction of a luxury property in Maitama, Abuja.
The witness, Shehu Bello, who appeared as the 14th prosecution witness before Justice Emeka Nwite, said he was aware of cash transactions amounting to N9 million, N8.5 million, and N5.8 million allegedly paid in connection with the development of a property located at Plot 1891, Dala Hills, Maitama.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission is prosecuting the former governor over alleged money laundering involving N80,246,470,088.88.
At the resumed hearing, EFCC lead counsel, Kemi Pinheiro (SAN), informed the court that proceedings were scheduled for the continuation of the witness’s examination-in-chief. Counsel to the prosecution, Olukayode Enitan (SAN), subsequently led the witness in evidence.
While testifying, Shehu Bello explained that he became involved in the Maitama property project after Ali Bello approached him to recommend a reputable construction company.
According to him, he introduced Metro Deck Construction Company Limited to Ali Bello, who eventually awarded the construction contract to the firm.
“My friend, Ali Bello, approached me to ask if I knew any good construction company that could build a house for him. So I recommended a company, Metro Deck Construction Company Limited. I brought them, and he gave them the job to build the house for him,” the witness told the court.
He further disclosed that payments for the construction project were made through both bank transfers and cash transactions.
“Ali Bello made transfers to them, and on some occasions, he paid them in cash,” he stated.
When asked about the specific amounts he personally knew about, the witness said the payments were made in naira and identified three separate cash payments.
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“The ones that I am aware of: N9 million, N8.5 million and N5.8 million. These are the only three cash payments I am aware of,” he said.
The witness also testified about another property located at Plot 1058, Cadastral Zone A08, Wuse II, Abuja, which he said was acquired after Ali Bello requested assistance in securing land for commercial purposes.
According to him, the property was purchased from SFC Foods Limited for N650 million through a bank
“My friend, Ali Bello, asked me if I could get him a property around Wuse II where he could build shops. After we spoke, I went out and got some people and spoke with some colleagues of mine. We got a plot of land in that location,” he explained.
The proceedings later shifted to legal arguments after the prosecution sought to tender the witness’s extra-judicial statements made to the EFCC as evidence.
Although the witness confirmed ownership of the statements and identified his signatures on the documents, counsel to Yahaya Bello, Adebayo Adedeji (SAN), objected to their admissibility.
The defence argued that the prosecution could not rely on its own witness’s extra-judicial statement as substantive evidence at that stage of the proceedings, maintaining that such statements were mainly useful to the defence for credibility challenges under the Evidence Act.
Adedeji also argued that the statement was not confessional in nature and therefore inadmissible against the defendant.
However, prosecution counsel Enitan countered that the objection was misconceived, insisting that once a witness acknowledges a statement and gives oral evidence in court, the document becomes admissible under the Evidence Act, with the court left to determine the weight to attach to it.
After listening to arguments from both sides, Justice Nwite adjourned the matter until June 15, 2026, for ruling on the admissibility of the statements and June 18 for continuation of trial.